The I Scouting Group () was a special reconnaissance unit within the German '' Kaiserliche Marine''. The unit was famously commanded by Admiral Franz von Hipper during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The I Scouting Group was one of the most active formations in the High Seas Fleet during the war; the unit took part in every major fleet operation in the North Sea, including the battles of Dogger Bank and

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

. The unit also saw limited action in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

, including the Battle of the Gulf of Riga.

Ships assigned to the I Scouting Group

was the first battlecruiser assigned to the I Scouting group. The ship joined the unit on 8 May 1911. On 30 September, was commissioned into the I Scouting Group, and replaced the old armored cruiser .Staff, p. 15 joined the unit after she was commissioned on 22 May 1913. was attached to the unit from August 1914. was slated to be assigned to the unit by the end of October 1914, but turbine damage delayed the ship from joining the I Scouting Group until 16 November of that year. ''Derfflinger''s sistership joined the unit on 20 March 1916. The third , and final ship to join the I Scouting Group, , was assigned to the unit on 6 November 1917. Of the seven true battlecruisers built by the ''Kaiserliche Marine'', only was not attached to the I Scouting Group, as she was made the flagship of the Mittelmeerdivision in October 1912. In preparation of the fleet advance on 18–19 August 1916, the I Scouting Group was to bombard the coastal town of

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

, but only two remaining German battlecruisers were still in fighting condition (''Moltke'' and ''Von der Tann'' ) so three dreadnoughts were assigned to the Group for the operation: , , and the newly commissioned .Massie, p. 682

Service history

The I Scouting Group was one of the most active units in the High Seas Fleet during World War I. The ships were used a number of times in attempts to lure out a portion of the British Grand Fleet, where it could be defeated by the whole German battle fleet. Several of these operations called for the ships of the I Scouting Group to bombard the English coast; these included the raid on Yarmouth, the raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby, and the bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft. The unit also participated in raids against British naval forces, including the operations that resulted in the Battle of Dogger Bank and the Battle of Jutland.

Footnotes

References

* * * * * {{High Seas Fleet Military units and formations of the Imperial German Navy Naval units and formations of Germany in World War I

Ships assigned to the I Scouting Group

Service history

Footnotes

See also

References